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Forms and User Displays
Form Development in Silverlight
Forms Development in Silverlight
Silverlight is a development platform that allows you to write and run applications for web, desktop, and mobile use. The Silverlight Designer provides the ability to integrate Silverlight forms in the Workflow Task List, Web Task List, and the Global Viewer in Workflow client.
Extend the Silverlight Designer Capabilities
The Silverlight Designer can be extended so that user-created controls or those from a third-party control vendor are available in the Silverlight Designer toolbox.
Form Editing and Debugging
When you are testing a workflow that contains a form activity, the Workflow Debugger can be used to view the inputs and outputs of the form. However, there are times when a greater level of information is desired to understand what is happening inside the form itself.
WPF Forms Designer Tips for Editing and Debugging
This section provides hints and tips for improving and/or troubleshooting your WPF forms development.
Adding Additional Assemblies to a Project
You can add a custom .NET assembly as a reference to the form project in the Project tab of the Designer.

Workflow IPI
Get Started
Tutorials
Orientation
Configure Your Environment
Security
Resource Information and Configuration
Data Administration
Forms and User Displays
- Forms Introduction
- Designer Panels
- Display and Group Duplication
- Form Templates
- Basic Forms and Displays
- Web-Based Forms and Displays
- Existing Assembly Options
- Form Development in Visual Studio
- Form Development in Silverlight
  - Forms Development in Silverlight
    Silverlight is a development platform that allows you to write and run applications for web, desktop, and mobile use. The Silverlight Designer provides the ability to integrate Silverlight forms in the Workflow Task List, Web Task List, and the Global Viewer in Workflow client.
    - Create a Silverlight form for web-based content
      This procedure is an example of how to create a Silverlight form for use with web-based content.
    - Add a control to a Silverlight form
    - Image Controls in Silverlight Forms
      Due to restrictions, the Source property for an image control cannot be set in the XAML. When an image control is used in the Silverlight designer, the URI for the image source must be manually entered into the image control's Source property. The designer automatically configures the Source property in code behind.
    - Calendar controls in Silverlight Forms
      The Calendar control's Selected Date property displays the current date in the control. The DisplayDate property represents the date that will be displayed. If this is not set, then the Selected Date is displayed.
    - Edit code behind
      This procedure provides an example of how to edit the code behind in a Silverlight form.
    - Silverlight Form Restrictions
      There are several restrictions in place for the design of Silverlight forms.
    - Extend the Silverlight Designer Capabilities
      The Silverlight Designer can be extended so that user-created controls or those from a third-party control vendor are available in the Silverlight Designer toolbox.
      - Add a custom control to the Silverlight Designer
        The controls that appear in the Silverlight Designer toolbox are Silverlight controls. To add additional controls into the Designer toolbox, start with a Silverlight control from a commercial control vendor or create your own.
      - Restrictions and Tips for Creating a Silverlight Control
        When creating a custom control for Silverlight, follow the tips below for standards of use.
      - Custom Data Type Editors from Command Lines
        Custom data types and their property editors can be configured with two command line utilities: UpdateSilverlightAssembly and UpdateSilverlightDataType. These utilities are located in the program directory.
      - Custom Data Type Editors
        The following topics explain how to create and configure a custom data type editor.
      - Call into a class library
        To invoke code that was written in a separate Silverlight class library, a call must be placed to that class library.
      - Add a reference to a Silverlight assembly
        To add new controls to the Silverlight Designer toolbox or to call code in a separate assembly, specify the containing assemblies from the Display Editor.
      - Update a Silverlight reference
        To update a reference that was written in a separate Silverlight class library, a call must be placed to that class library.
      - Add custom submit, cancel, and enable to a form using the Designer
        The form can be configured so that the Workflow Task List Submit and Cancel buttons are not visible when the form is displayed in the Task List. You can also ensure that a form is only ready for submission after the appropriate operator interaction by enabling/disabling the Submit button.
      - Add custom auto submit and auto cancel to a Silverlight form using Visual Studio
        If a form is created in Visual Studio rather than the Designer, custom submit and cancel buttons can be configured.
      - Configure custom submit, cancel, and/or enable behavior in Silverlight forms
        Submitting or cancelling a form is determined during the design of the workflow containing the form.
      - Configure visibility of submit/cancel buttons for Silverlight forms hosted in the Task List
        To create custom submit and cancel buttons in yourSilverlightSilverlightStringObject form, you can configure the FormProperties class in order to set the visibility of the default buttons to false.
      - Configure visibility of the scroll bar for Silverlight forms hosted in the Task List
        To disable the horizontal and vertical scroll bars in forms used in a web-based Task List, you can configure the FormProperties class in order to set the visibility to false.
      - Special Considerations for Custom Cancel in Silverlight Forms
        The ability to cancel a form is determined during the design of the workflow containing the form.
      - Specify Parameter Metadata for Silverlight Forms
        When parameter metadata is extracted from a form, the following attributes are parsed:
      - Edit forms using Visual Studio 2010
        Take care when editing Designer-created forms in Visual Studio. It is possible to make changes that prevent the Designer from opening the project. The following notes will be helpful in creating changes that are compatible with the Designer.
      - Debug Content Created in the Silverlight Designer
        Content created in Silverlight can encounter bugs. This topic provides assistance in debugging your project.
      - Form Editing and Debugging
        When you are testing a workflow that contains a form activity, the Workflow Debugger can be used to view the inputs and outputs of the form. However, there are times when a greater level of information is desired to understand what is happening inside the form itself.
        Edit and debug content created in Visual Studio
        This scenario deals with cases where you created a form or user display using Visual Studio, and then uploaded this form in the Display Editor of the Proficy Client.
        Edit and debug content created in the Designer
        This scenario deals with cases where you created a form using the Designer tab of the Display Editor in the Proficy Client.
        WPF Forms Designer Tips for Editing and Debugging
        This section provides hints and tips for improving and/or troubleshooting your WPF forms development.
        If breakpoints are not hit when debugging
        Breakpoints should be used and hit when debugging. If your breakpoints are not hit during a debugging session, follow the information below to troubleshoot the issue.
        Reloading forms into the Designer after editing in Visual Studio
        In most cases, after a Designer-generated form has been edited in Visual Studio, the modifications can still be saved and then later edited in the Designer. However, there are exceptions where this may not work, such as in the following examples.
        Localizing a Form
        If you want a form to always load in a specific language, you can set the language in code behind.
        Context-aware displays
        While forms are intended for use within a workflow, user displays are intended to live in the Workflow client, outside the context of a workflow.
        Validation on an output parameter
        Use this information to help you configure a Masking TextBox control.
        Validation using the Masked TextBox
        Use this information to help you configure a Masked TextBox control.
        Validation using the Validating TextBox
        Use this information to help you configure a Validating TextBox control.
        Validation in code behind
        Use this information to override the ValidateForm method, which prevents a form from being submitted by the user.
        Adding Additional Assemblies to a Project
        You can add a custom .NET assembly as a reference to the form project in the Project tab of the Designer.
        Adding Controls to the Toolbox
        If the newly referenced assembly contains any controls, they will automatically show up in the toolbox unless they have the [Browsable(false)] attribute specified.
        Using a Service Provider Method Exclusively in Code
        Service provider methods, including those from custom service providers, are, in most cases, accessible and can be configured using the Server Method dialog box in the Designer. However, if a method is configured with the Browsable attribute set to False, then it will not show up in the Server Methods dialog box and can be accessed only through code.
        Sorting Items in a ComboBox, ListBox, or ListView
        There is no property available on these Items Controls to enable alphabetical sorting of the contents; however, this can be doneusing code.
Building and Configuring Workflows
eSOP
ActiveX Task Controls
Service Interfaces
Operator Task List in the Workflow Client
Best Practices

Adding Additional Assemblies to a Project

You can add a custom .NET assembly as a reference to the form project in the Project tab of the Designer.

If this assembly is not present on all client machines already, then it should be added on the Overview tab of the Designer to the Additional Files area. It is then downloaded to each client when the form is loaded.

On machines where the Designer will be used, the referenced assembly must also be copied into the Program directory of the Proficy install (as a peer to ProficyClient.exe). This is not required in cases where the Client is only running the form, but not modifying it.

Note: Beginning with Workflow 2.5, .NET 4.5 is required to develop display or form assemblies. Custom display or form assemblies that target earlier versions of .NET will continue to function as before. However, saving changes made to such custom assemblies requires that they be upgraded, which is accomplished in different ways, based on the version of .NET:

For an assembly that pre-dates .NET 4.0, you must upgrade the assembly when you open it. Failure to do so results in an error and the inability to save the edited assembly.
For an assembly that targets .NET 4.0, the assembly is upgraded automatically when opened, and changes to such assemblies can be saved as before.